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Basic Geology
Basic Geology
The Earth - Overview
The Earth - Mechanisms
Rock Types
Deposition
Clastic rocks
Carbonate Rocks
Reservoir Rocks
Porosity
Permeability

Notes

JJ Consulting 1997

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The Earth

The earth is made up of a number of components. At the centre is the


solid core which is Nickel - Iron ; around this is a liquid core of the same
material. The next part is a liquid called the Mantle, composed of much
lighter materials. Finally there is a solid crust, a very thin sheath.

Notes

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The crust is not one solid skin on the mantle. It is broken into a number of
irregular plates. The plates can be large, the Pacific Plate, or relatively
small, some of the Mediterranean plates. The centres of the plates are

The Earth 2

stable environments while the edges are the earthquake/volcano regions of


the earth. These plates move around driven by the convection currents in
the mantle.

Notes

The crust is broken into a number of plates.

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Plate Tectonics 1

The mantle is plastic. It flows in convection currents from the very hot
core to the outer Mantle/crust. These currents cause the crust to move. The
currents are continuous and are responsible for all the features on the
earth's surface.

Notes

Convection currents flow from the very hot core


up to the crust.
It is these currents which produce the
movements seen on the surface.

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Compressional Features

Two types of features are caused by the movement of the plates. The first
set are compressional. Here two plates are pushed together. They can
create a zone of mountains or one plate can go under the other creating a
trench. Mountains are usually associated with trenching as well.

Notes

These features are caused by the mantle


currents pushing plates together

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On the other side of the currents tensional effects are found. Here the plate
is stretched out thin creating faults and rifts and eventually a new plate.
Both compressional and tensional features play a large role in the
structures of reservoirs.

Tensional Features

Notes

Tensional features are causes by the plates


moving apart, for example a rift.

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This diagram shows two ocean plates colliding in a compressional event.


The trench is formed on one side while mountains (volcanoes) are created
on the other.

Ocean plate - Ocean Plate

Notes

Trench
Mountains
When an ocean plate meets another, one is
forced down creating a trench.
Volcanoes form at the junction.

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Ocean plate - Continental plate

This is a typical trenching effect with the ocean plate being forced Down
under the continental plate. The latter is forced up into a mountain chain,
while there is a trench formed at the boundary.
An example of this type of feature is found on the western side of
Sumatra. The island has a range of volcanic mountains while offshore is a
deep trench.
The ocean plate is being driven by the creation of a mid-ocean ridge. A
good example of this types of feature is the Mid Atlantic Ridge which
stretches from Iceland to below Argentina.

Notes

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Two continental plates colliding create a mountain between them.


Compressional forces driving this effect. The entire region surrounding
the mountains with be heavily affected by faulting and fracturing.

Continental - Continental

Notes

The collision of two continental plates creates a


mountain range.
A good example is the Himalayas, created when
India collided with Asia.

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Plates

This slide shows a number of the plates and other features of the Indian
Ocean. Several mid-ocean ridges are clearly visible delineating the edges
of the plates. The plates contain features such as basins and plateaus. the
latter are higher regions, some even forming island chains.
At the edges of the plates are features such as the Java trench, created
where the ocean plate moving east is going under the continental plate.

Notes

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The basins are close to continents and obtain the sediments from the
interior. A basin cannot be near the edge of a plate as any sediments
would be stirred making reservoir formation difficult.

Basins
The basin is where hydrocarbon reservoirs are
found.
A shallow sea in a quiet region of a tectonic plate
is required.
The sediments can build up and form rocks
without being disturbed.

Notes

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Current Basins

Current basins where reservoirs are forming are the Persian Gulf, the
North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Barrier Reef. All of these are
stable. The Mediterranean is not a basin although there are plenty of rivers
depositing sediment, it is unstable with numerous tectonic boundaries
running through it.
The geologist has to image the earth as it was millions of years ago to find
those ancient basins where reservoirs formed.

Notes

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The rocks forming the earths crust are broken down into three major
classes reflecting their origins.
Igneous coming from molten material of the mantle, sedimentary rocks
from sediments and metamorphic from the effects of heat and pressure of
both of the others.

Rocks General
There are three major classes of rock:
Igneous:
(e.g. Granite).
Sedimentary:

Notes

(e.g. Sandstone).
Metamorphic:
(e.g. Marble).

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Volcanic rocks are those seen immediately after a volcanic eruption. They
cool quickly resulting in an amorphous structure. They have no texture.
Plutonic rocks cool much slower as they come up from the Mantle and
stop much deeper inside the crust. They have a crystalline structure.
Continuing movements of the crust may bury the volcano and bring the
plutonic rock to a shallower depth or even surface.

Igneous Rocks
Comprise 95% of the Earth's crust.
Originated from the solidification of molten
material from deep inside the Earth.
There are two types:
Volcanic - glassy in texture due to fast cooling.
Plutonic - slow-cooling, crystalline rocks.

Notes

crystalline

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Igneous Rocks and Reservoirs

A granite has no porosity or permeability of its own, however tectonic


forces may fracture the rock. Into these fractures hydrocarbons can flow to
create a reservoir.
The nature of volcanoes is to eject material which is mixed with the
already existing formations. This is what happened in some places where
the sandstone of the reservoir has volcanic debris mixed into it.

Igneous rocks can be part of reservoirs.


Fractured granites form reservoirs in some parts
of the world.
Volcanic tuffs are mixed with sand in some
reservoirs.

Notes

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The effect of heat and pressure is to transform the rock into a new form. In
doing this it destroys all porosity and any hydrocarbon. Metamorphic
rocks do not exist in reservoirs.

Metamorphic Rocks
2) Metamorphic rocks
formed by the action of temperature
and/or pressure on sedimentary or igneous
rocks.
Examples are
Marble -

formed from limestone

Hornfels -

from shale or tuff

Gneiss -

similar to granite but


formed by metamorphosis

Notes

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Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary rocks are formed from the material of other rocks which
could be igneous, metamorphic or older sedimentary rocks. The
classification splits those rocks which form from materials transported
from one place to another - clastic rocks, from rocks which are created
from materials in their place of formation ; no transportation - non clastic
rocks.

The third category is Sedimentary rocks. These


are the most important for the oil industry as it
contains most of the source rocks and cap rocks
and virtually all reservoirs.
Sedimentary rocks come from the debris of older
rocks and are split into two categories
Clastic and Non-clastic.

Notes

Clastic rocks formed from the materials of older rocks


by the actions of erosion, transportation
and deposition.
Non-clastic rocks from chemical or biological origin and
then deposition.

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Depositional Environments
The depositional environment can be
Shallow or deep water.

The depositional environment often plays a vital part of the evaluation of


a well and a field. This often defines the major lithology and points to the
possibilities of minor minerals. For example the shallow fan of the delta in
the slide produces a conglomerate , the deep water is showing shales ( fine
sediments ). Clues to the deposition come from a lot of measurements in
and around the well. Core data is invaluable for the fossils, something that
cant be seen on logs. The analysis of Dipmeter curves was always one of
the first steps to choosing the depositional environment. Lately the
imaging tools have made the process much easier with high resolution
borehole images.

Marine (sea) and lake or continental.


This environment determines many of the
reservoir characteristics
Notes

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Depositional Environments 2

The classical continental deposition of sand dunes produces an excellent


reservoir quality reservoir rock. To create a reservoir the dune has to be
buried with a source rock and cap rock providing the rest of the elements
of the reservoir.
The sediments carried down rivers will be deposited once the energy of
the river currents drops. Heavier particles will come out first, leaving the
fine sediments to go into deep water.

Continental deposits are usually dunes.


A shallow marines environment has a lot of
turbulence hence varied grain sizes. It can also
have carbonate and evaporite formation.
A deep marine environment produces fine
sediments.

Notes

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Sediments deposited in deep water will form poor quality reservoir rocks
as the fine grains lead to poor permeability.

Depositional Environments 3
The depositional characteristics of the rocks lead
to some of their properties and that of the
reservoir itself.
The reservoir rock type clastic or non-clastic.
The type of porosity (especially in carbonates) is
determined by the environment plus subsequent
events.
Notes

The structure of a reservoir can also be


determined by deposition; a river, a delta, a reef
and so on.
This can also lead to permeability and
producibility. of these properties are often
changed by further events.

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Diagenesis

Sedimentary rocks are subject to changes over time. If water of a different


chemical composition flows through the rock, reactions can occur
changing the rock type or dissolving some of it.
Tectonic forces are always present. They crack the rock creating fractures.

The environment can also involve subsequent


alterations of the rock such as:
Chemical changes.
Diagenesis is the chemical alteration of a rock
after burial. An example is the replacement of
some of the calcium atoms in limestone by
magnesium to form dolomite.
Notes

Mechanical changes - fracturing in a tectonicallyactive region.

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Rock Cycle

The start and end of all rocks is the magma in the mantle . This is cooled
to create igneous rocks. these can be broken down into sediments. The
sediments are turned into sedimentary rocks. These can be buried deeper
with heat and pressure, turning into metamorphic rocks. If these are then
heated we return to the magma. Inside this major cycle are subcycles.
Igneous rocks can be heated to give metamorphic rocks. Any rocks can be
broken into sediments to give sedimentary rocks.

Notes

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Clastic Rocks

Sands are a reservoir rock, while shales are a source rock and a cap rock. The shales are
very fine grained and although the can contain fluids this can only leak out in geological
time, very slowly.
Shales and silts also contain other minerals than Quartz. The sediments are buried to
create the sedimentary rock, initially filled with water.

Clastic rocks are sands, silts and shales. The


difference is in the size of the grains.

Notes

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Depositional Environment - Delta

Deltas can have huge extents. There are also a large number of potential traps in this
environment, channels, bars and sheets of sands further out in the deeper water. hence the
delta is one of the most prolific hydrocarbon environments. They are also complex with
the structure ranging from shallow , shoreline to deep water.

Sediments are transported to the basins by rivers.


A common depositional environment is the delta
where the river empties into the sea.
A good example of this is the Mississippi.

Notes

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Ancient river beds below the current level can add up to a considerable
thickness.
The shape of a river/channel type deposition is often complicated, causing
problems for well placement.

Rivers

Notes

Some types of deposition occur in rivers and


sand bars.
The river forms a channel where sands are
deposited in layers. Rivers carry sediment down
from the mountains which is then deposited in
the river bed and on the flood plains at either
side.
Changes in the environment can cause these
sands to be overlain with a shale, trapping the
reservoir rock.

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Carbonates contain about half the worlds reserves in less than half of the reservoirs
mainly due to the super giant fields of the Middle East

Carbonates
Carbonates form a large proportion of all
sedimentary rocks.

They consist of:


Limestone.
Dolomite.
Notes

Carbonates usually have an irregular structure.


They are formed from biological debris,
shells, skeletons etc.

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Limestones and dolomites are usually reservoir rocks. A very dense, low porosity
limestone can, occasionally, be a cap rock
. Dolomitisation is a very important mechanism as it not only creates porosity but
permeability paths vital to some reservoirs.

Carbonate types

Chalk reservoirs tend to have very high porosity and very low permeability.

Chalk is a special form of limestone and is formed


from the skeletons of small creatures (cocoliths).
Dolomite is formed by the replacement of some of
the calcium by a lesser volume of magnesium in
limestone by magnesium. Magnesium is smaller
than calcium, hence the matrix becomes smaller
and more porosity is created.
Notes

Limestone

CaCO3

Dolomite

CaMg(CO3)2

Evaporites such as Salt (NaCl) and Anhydrite


(CaSO4) can also form in these environments.

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A reef is the simplest carbonate deposition, the skeletons of the reef animals.
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Depositional Environment
Carbonates

In the shallow lagoons, Calcium Carbonate is deposited. Shells and so on are added to
the mixture. Changes in sea level allow the deposition of salt or anhydrite as a seal.
Carbonate deposition is very complex as the rocks themselves have particle sizes
ranging from whole shells to line mud. The basic deposition is in shallow seas from
biological and chemical action. CaCo3 is soluble hence can be transported around as a
solute and then reprecipitated elsewhere.
In addition to the carbonates these environments also produce evaporites such as salt (
NaCl ) and anhydrite ( Ca So4 ) . Other rocks include pyrite ( FeS2 ) and siderite ( FeCo3
) and chert, microcrystalline quartz, the carbonate reservoir is hence very complex.

Lagoon

Notes

Carbonates are formed in shallow seas


containing features such as:
Reefs.
Lagoons.
Shore-bars.
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Rock Properties

There are many other ways to describe a rock from a geological


perspective. The minor constituents often determine how a rock behaves
as a reservoir, hence they are included in the description. For example
then shale content of a sandstone and the type of shale will be used.

Rocks are described by three properties:


Porosity -

quantity of pore space

Permeability - ability of a formation to flow


Matrix -

major constituent of the rock


Notes

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Definition of Porosity

The amount of porosity gives the volume of the reservoir containing


fluids. As it is a fraction it can be described as a number e.g. 0.25 or
commonly as a percentage, 25%. Porosity can range from zero to over
50%. In normal reservoirs the range of 20% - 39%.

Notes

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Porosity Sandstones

The two packing models shown represent some of the possibilities .Cubic
packing , with a porosity in excess of 47% is the theoretical maximum
which is rarely reached.
These pictures are valid in a lot of cases as the sand sediments deposited
are often of uniform size and shape. The addition of smaller grains will
reduce the porosity.

The porosity of a sandstone depends on the


packing arrangement of its grains.
The system can be examined using spheres.

Chalk often exhibits cubic packing.

In a Rhombohedral packing, the pore


space accounts for 26% of the total
volume.

With a Cubic packing arrangement,


the pore space fills 47% of the total
volume.

Notes

In practice, the theoretical value is


rarely reached because:
a) the grains are not perfectly round,
and
b) the grains are not of uniform size.
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Porosity and Grain Size


A rock can be made up of small grains or large
grains but have the same porosity.
Porosity depends on grain packing, not the grain
size.

In a clastic rock the grain size ( same size grains ) does not affect the
porosity. Thus a sand, a silt and a shale can have the same porosity .The
differences come in permeability where the grain size has a direct effect,
large grains meaning higher permeability. This is the reason that a
universal porosity - permeability transform does not work; two rocks with
the same porosity but different grain sizes will not have the same
permeability. The saturation can occur even in the same sandstone
layer in a reservoir in a sequence where the grain size has changed during
deposition eg. a firing up sequence.
This implies that the silts and shales have porosity containing fluid. The
fluid is water as the pore size is so small that capillary forces prevent
hydrocarbon from entering.

Notes

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Sandstones can also contain fractures and vugs, however this is rarer than
in the carbonates. In the case of vugs the latter are soluble while sandstone
is not.

Carbonate Porosity
Intergranular porosity is called "primary
porosity".

Porosity created after deposition is called


"secondary porosity".

Notes

The latter is in two forms:


Fractures
Vugs.

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Fractures are classed as either being vertical or horizontal, although they can appear at
almost any angle. If they are vertical they can penetrate from an oil column down into the
water, and, as they have very high permeability, can cause production problems.
This set of porosities are not fabric selective, ie. they happen to the entire rock. Fractures
crack through any of the types of mineral or shell in the rock.

Fractures
Fractures are caused when a rigid rock is
strained beyond its elastic limit - it cracks.
The forces causing it to break are in a constant
direction, hence all the fractures are also
aligned.
Fractures are an important source of
permeability in low porosity carbonate
reservoirs.

Notes

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Vugs

The full definition of vugs is more complicated. They are irregular holes
in the rock. They have been caused by dissolution of shell (etc) fragments
and also some of the matrix surrounding them. They can vary widely in
size from a few microns to metres. In this context they are regarded as
being a centimetres at most. In most cases the vugs are not connected to
each other in any producible manner and hence do not contribute to the
formations productivity.
Carbonate rocks will frequently contain both vugs and fractures.

Notes

Vugs are defined as non-connected pore space.


They do not contribute to the producible fluid
total.
Vugs are caused by the dissolution of soluble
material such as shell fragments after the rock
has been formed.
They usually have irregular shapes.

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The major difference in the two properties porosity or permeability is that


the former is a static rock property while the latter is a dynamic rock and
fluid property.

Permeability Definition
The rate of flow of a liquid through a formation
depends on:
The pressure drop.
The viscosity of the fluid.
The permeability.
The pressure drop is a reservoir property.
The viscosity is a fluid property.
The permeability is a measure of the ease at
which a fluid can flow through a formation.

Notes

Relationships exist between permeability and


porosity for given formations, although they are
not universal.
A rock must have porosity to have any
permeability.
The unit of measurement is the Darcy.
Reservoir permeability is usually quoted in
millidarcies, (md).
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The original experiment was designed to monitor the flow of water


through the sand in the town of Dijon .

Darcy Experiment

The flow of fluid of viscosity m through a


porous medium was first investigated in 1856 by
Henri Darcy.
He related the flow of water through a unit
volume of sand to the pressure gradient across
it.
In the experiment the flow rate can be changed
by altering the parameters.

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Notes

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Darcy Experiment 2

The flow rate increases with increasing pressure drop; it decreases with
increasing length ; it increases with increasing surface area; it decreases
with increasing viscosity. Putting this altogether gives an equation with
the unknown as the permeability, K.

Notes

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Permeability is a metric ( but not SI ) unit.

Darcy Law

Notes

K = permeability, in Darcies.
L = length of the section of rock, in centimetres.
Q = flow rate in centimetres3 / sec.
P1, P2 = pressures in bars.
A = surface area, in cm2.
= viscosity in centipoise.

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The flow rate through the large pore spaces is high hence the permeability
is high.

Permeability and Rocks


In formations with large grains, the
permeability is high and the flow rate larger.

Notes

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Permeability and Rocks 2

The flow rate through the small grained rocks is low hence the
permeability is low. The formation contrasts with the one in the previous
slide; with the same porosity the permeabilities can differ dramatically.
The ultimate contrast is between a very fine grained shale with zero
permeability and a coarse sandstone with a high permeability.

In a rock with small grains the permeability is


less and the flow lower.

Notes

Grain size has no bearing on porosity, but has a


large effect on permeability.

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Permeability and Rocks 3

low
Vertical
permeability

high horizontal perm

The flow through this system will be best along


the horizontal direction through the large grained
parts of the rock. The small grained layer will
impede fluid flow in the vertical direction and
hence reduce the permeability. The porosity of all
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the layers can be exactly the same.
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Due to bedding the permeability can change vertically to a clastic


sequence . The vertical permeability kv is determined by the lowest
permeability layer. The horizontal permeability kh does not have this
problem. The anisotropy , Kv/Kh describes the difference between the
two. This ratio is always less than or equal to 1.

Notes

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As noted a rock can have porosity but no permeability. If it has zero


porosity it will have zero permeability. In practical terms low porosity
reservoirs ( < 10% ) exist.

Reservoir Rocks
Reservoir rocks need two properties to be
successful:
Pore spaces able to retain hydrocarbon.
Permeability which allows the fluid to move.

Notes

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Clastic Reservoirs

Sandstone reservoirs account for the majority of the worlds fields. There
will always be bedding variations leading to differences in the quality of
the reservoirs. The porosity and permeability are relatively simple to
evaluate from core samples.
Fractures may be important in low porosity reservoirs.

Sandstone usually has regular grains; and is


referred to as a grainstone.
Porosity
Determined mainly by the packing and
mixing of grains.
Permeability
Determined mainly by grain size and
packing, connectivity and shale content.

Notes

Fractures may be present.

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Carbonates reservoirs are difficult as their properties change in both the


vertical and the horizontal directions, often in unpredictable ways.
Fractures are nearly always present and can be essential to production.

Carbonate Reservoirs
Carbonates normally have a very irregular
structure.
Porosity:
Determined by the type of shells, etc. and
by depositional and post-depositional
events (fracturing, leaching, etc.).
Permeability:
Determined by deposition and postdeposition events, fractures.

Notes

Fractures can be very important in carbonate


reservoirs.

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The majority of cap rocks are shales as it is these rocks which are
normally present. Zero porosity carbonates not only form cap rocks but
barriers in the reservoir itself.

Cap Rock
A reservoir needs a cap rock.

Notes

Impermeable cap rock keeps the fluids trapped in


the reservoir.
It must have zero permeability.
Some examples are:
Shales.
Evaporites such as salt or anhydrite.
Zero-porosity carbonates.
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Source rocks are shale or siltstone. These sedimentary rocks form in the
deep ocean and have fine grains.

Source Rocks
Hydrocarbon originates from minute organisms
in seas and lakes. When they die, they sink to
the bottom where they form organic-rich
"muds" in fine sediments.
These "muds" are in a reducing environment or
"kitchen", which strips oxygen from the
sediments leaving hydrogen and carbon.
The sediments are compacted to form organicrich rocks with very low permeability.
The hydrocarbon can migrate very slowly to
nearby porous rocks, displacing the original
formation water.

Plankton and other dead animals


fall to the bootm of the oceans

Organic rich mud

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Temperature Window

The temperature at which the source rock has been cooked is important
to the viability of the reservoir. It is closely related to the depth at which
the rock was buried. As all this happened a long time in the past the
geologist has to track the history of the source rock.

Temperature too low for


hydrocarbon formation

Oil Formed

Gas Formed

Notes
Temperature too high for
hydrocarbon formation

If the temperature is too low, the organic


material cannot transform into hydrocarbon.
If the temperature is too high, the organic
material and hydrocarbons are destroyed.

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Hydrocarbon Migration

Notes

Hydrocarbon migration takes place in two


stages:
Primary migration - from the source rock to a porous
rock.
This is a complex process and not fully understood.
It is probably limited to a few hundred metres.

Secondary migration - along the porous rock to the trap.


This occurs by buoyancy, capillary pressure and hydrodynamics
through a continuous water-filled pore system.
It can take place over large distances.

Secondary migration is simple to understand with the higher hydrocarbon


floating to rest on top of the original water. The primary part of the
process is much more complex. The exact mechanism is uncertain as the
experiment cannot be done in the laboratory ( high temperature and
pressure and a very long time ).

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Rock Classification

Clastic rocks are classified initially by their grain size. There are many
more complex classifications for this type of rock but this is the simplest.
In this list Conglomerates and Sandstones are reservoir rocks, Siltstones
and Shales are source rocks and shales are also cap rocks.
Non- Clastics can be described by their chemical composition, there are,
once again many more complex descriptions. Here limestone and
Dolomite are reservoir rocks and Silt and Anhydrite are cap rocks.

Clastics
Rock type
Conglomerate
Sandstone
Siltstone
Shale

Non-Clastics
Rock type
Limestone
Dolomite
Salt
Anhydrite
Coal

Particle diameter
Pebbles
2 - 64mm
Sand
.06 - 2mm
Silt
.003 - .06mm
Clay
<.003mm

Notes

Composition
CaCO3
CaMg(CO3)2
NaCl
CaSO4
Carbon

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Reservoir Structure
There are many other types of structure.
The criteria for a structure is that it must have:
Closure, i.e. the fluids are unable to
escape.
Be large enough to be economical.

The exact form of the reservoir depends on the


depositional environment and post depositional
events such as foldings and faulting.

The rocks compromising the reservoir undergo significant changes due to


tectonic movements. The most important is folding and faulting as it is
these alterations to the initial horizontal strata which create the structures
forming reservoir traps. The depositional environment contributes greatly
to the variety of trap. Shallow lagoons can have reefs as well as layers of
carbonates.

Notes

1300m

1400m
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In the major oil basins of the world it is often the case of series of
structures. Maps of the North Sea or Middle East clearly show the
reservoirs lined up as one structure has overflowed into the next.

Trap definitions

Once the hydrocarbon reaches the spill plane it


goes to fill up the next structure.

Notes

Several fields can be created in a line.


Closure is measured down to the spill plane.

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Traps General

The key concepts are those of Net and Gross pay. Gross pay is always >
Net pay. This can also be described by the Net -to - Gross ratio which is
always less than or equal to one. The spill plane is the maximum level to
which this particular reservoir can filled before the next anticline starts to
be filled.

Gross Pay: the total


thickness of the reservoir
zone from the top of the
reservoir to the lowermost
hydrocarbons

Closure: total
reservoir size
down to the spill
point

Net Pay: the total thickness


of producible hydrocarbons

Notes

Spill Point: connection to other


systems

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Structural traps describe all the large features and includes domes,
anticlines and faults. These large scale reservoirs include most of the
Middle East giants.

Structural Traps
The simplest form of trap is a dome.
This is created by upward movement or folding
of underlying sediments.

Notes

An anticline is another form of simple trap. This


is formed by the folding of layers of sedimentary
rock.

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Fault Traps

Faulting is an important mechanism in most reservoirs. It forms reservoirs


in its own right and also breaks other reservoirs down into specific blocks.
Well testing helps determine the fault parameters such as distance from a
well, angle and so on.
Faulting of older blocks creating grabens also makes depositional
environments for new reservoir formation. Overall a very important
mechanism in most reservoirs.

Faults occur when the rock shears due to


stresses. Reservoirs often form in these fault
zones.
A porous and permeable layer may trap fluids
due to its location alongside an impermeable
fault or its juxtaposition alongside an
impermeable bed.
Faults are found in conjunction with other
structures such as anticlines, domes and salt
domes.

Notes

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Stratigraphic traps describe the traps associated with the depositional


environment. Reefs, channels and bars are from specific environments.
Unconformities exist due to tectonic movements when a formation ;an
anticline in the diagram is eroded ( it is above ground level ). It is then
buried and more sediments are added creating the seal and hence the
reservoir.

Stratigraphic Traps

Notes

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Salt Dome Trap

Salt in creating the domes also adds faults and fractures due to the express
pressures on the rocks. The traps around the dome are difficult to find as
anything below the Salt is invisible on the surface seismic. ( the contrast
between the salt and anything else is too large ).

Salt Dome traps are caused when "plastic" salt


is forced upwards.
The salt dome pierces through layers and
compresses rocks above. This results in the
formation of various traps:
In domes created by formations pushed up by
the salt.
Along the flanks and below the overhang in
porous rock abutting on the impermeable salt
itself.
Notes

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Most reservoir maps in the world use m.s.l. as the reference. Depths of
the layer increases away from the crest of the structure.
The reference is needed because the drilling rig can be on top of a
mountain or an offshore platform. In each case the measured depth of the
same layer is different as the drilling reference is different.

Reservoir Mapping

Notes

Reservoir contours are usually measured to be


below Mean Sea Level (MSL).
They can represent either the reservoir formation
structure or fluid layers.
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Rock Ages

The vast majority of reservoirs fall into the middle era from about
300Myears to about 60Myears. This is because there has been enough
time for all the process to happen. If too much time has passed the
continuing tectonic movements will push the reservoir deep, destroying
the hydrocarbon or cracked it open or raised it to the surface allowing the
fluids to escape.
If not enough time has passed all the elements of the reservoir will not be
in place.

Notes

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Reservoir Rocks and Production


Sandstones

Under high drawdown some


sandstones will collapse; the well
produces sand. This may cause
damage to equipment.

Carbonates

Lost circulation material is


produced first and can clog valves
and so on.
Production may be through
fractures and only a few
perforations producing as jets.

The mechanical strength of the sandstone formations can be predicted


using wireline logs.
Lost circulation material is used to stop mud losses during drilling, it can
be a number of materials, ground nut shells, cotton seeds, rubber bands,
mica. In all cases its major property is to block holes.

Notes

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